The Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets team understand how many considerations there are when it comes to updating or replacing your kitchen. Our information guides are designed to offer quick and easy insight into all things related to solid wood, kitchens and cabinetry, plus other information that may interest and inspire you!

So, if you're thinking about making a purchase, or are just interested in learning a little more about the wonderful world of solid timber kitchens, please feel free to explore our extensive library.

If you would like to view all the information guides in a particular category, please use the following links:

A compendium of articles to help you choose accessories and appliances to suit your solid wood kitchen. Includes popular guides such as 'Buying Small Appliances for Oak Kitchens' and 'Buying Cooker Hobs for Solid Oak Kitchens'.

In the ‘Cabinetry’ category you will find guidance on anything and everything to do with kitchen cabinets; these articles will contain product knowledge, history, information on specific timbers and cabinet construction. This section will be updated regularly so do keep an eye out for new guides.

These questions were sent in directly by our customers, and have been answered with assistance from our in-house kitchen experts. We will be posting a new question every week, so do check back for the answers to further popular queries.

Handy hints about our services, product ranges, and much more. Our 'General' guides cover a wide range of topics, from a 'Pre-Drilling Service' article to a helpful run-down of the online ordering process entitled 'How to Order Solid Wood Kitchens'.

A selection of guides that will prove both inspirational and informative when planning your kitchen. Features useful articles such as 'How to Create a Shaker Kitchen' and 'How to Create a Farmhouse Kitchen with Solid Oak Kitchen Cabinets'.

For a full list of the Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets information guides, please click here.

If you are looking for something in particular, please use the following search:

Recent Information Guides from Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets

“Where is the timber for your worktops sourced from?”

Today’s ‘Question of the Week’ comes from Freya in Colchester, who is considering buying wood worktops from us as well as solid oak kitchen cabinets, but wanted to know where the timber for our worktops is sourced from.

QUESTION:

“I have already decided to purchase oak cabinets from you for my new kitchen, and am considering going with wood worktops too. Before I make my decision can you please let me know where the timber for your worktops is sourced?”

ANSWER:

Hi Freya,

Thank you for sending in your query, we are pleased to hear that you have chosen our oak kitchen cabinets to deck out your new kitchen.

We take the sourcing of our timber very seriously. We will only purchase wood from sustainable forests with well-managed replanting programmes, and our worktops are manufactured at suppliers in the EU (all of whom adhere to the correct procedures and produce high-quality items). Many other worktop suppliers source cheap worktops from China, which are manufactured in poor working conditions, and to a low standard.

Some of our most popular timber choices, including oak worktops and maple worktops are sourced and manufactured in the EU, with wood coming from a variety of suppliers in eastern European countries such as Poland, Ukraine and Croatia.

More exotic woods are bought from thoroughly vetted suppliers in Central and Western Africa that support replanting schemes; for example our iroko worktops and zebrano worktops are created from carefully selected sources in Cameroon, Ivory Coast or Angola.

Other wood species in our collection are sourced from other certified international suppliers. As the name suggests, our black American walnut worktops come from America, whilst bamboo worktops are carefully chosen from suppliers in Eastern Asia.

Throughout our business we are very mindful to only choose suppliers with strong environmental records; suppliers who care about sustainability and minimising wastage as much as ourselves. You can read more information about our eco-credentials on our Environmental Policy page.

If you have already decided upon real wood kitchen cabinets for your kitchen, then now is the time to decide what type of worktop will fit perfectly atop of them. There are a wide range of choices out there that suit solid oak kitchens, including wooden kitchen worktops, granite and marble, solid surface composites or laminate worktops.

Knowing which worktops to choose for your new kitchen is dictated by your own personal preference and a number of other factors. In this information guide you’ll find plenty of details about each option to help make your decision a little easier.

Choosing the right material

Granite & Marble Worktops

By far the heaviest and most solid of any worktop choice, granite and marble worktops require almost no maintenance after installation and can be easily cleaned.

Available in a variety of shades, most granites and marbles have a mottled appearance, with a more uniform appearance commanding extremely high price tags.

Granite and marble worktops are not suitable for DIY installation; specialist fitters will be required to visit site. Customisation is possible but it is a slow process that requires specific tools due to the hardness of the material.

Wooden Worktops

Solid wood worktops come in a wide range of timber types, with dark luxurious options such as black American walnut, traditional varieties of oak and extremely sustainable choices like bamboo all easily available.

No matter whether you have a modern or traditional kitchen, you should find a species of timber to suit.

Wood worktops are suitable for DIY installation and require no specialist tools. Both hard-wearing and naturally resilient to bacteria, timber surfaces are also very easy to customise into whatever shape you may require.

Solid Surface Worktops

Solid surface worktops are made from acrylics and other man-made materials, producing a range of worktops with an appearance that is not unlike marble or granite.

Available in a very wide range of patterns and colours, solid surface worktops can be found to suit many design themes, but usually suit modern kitchens better than traditional settings.

Laminate Worktops

Laminate worktops are often the cheapest worktop choice available, and are offered by many high-street kitchen retailers.

A choice of faux-granite and wooden options are available, which usually consist of a plastic laminate layer wrapped around a composite worktop constructed of chipboard or a similar cheap material.

Fitting and customising laminate worktops is not as difficult as solid surfaces, but requires extra finishing in comparison to stone and solid wood surfaces to maintain the aesthetic.

Where to purchase worktops

At Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets, that thanks to our sister supplier: Worktop Express®, it should come as no surprise that we offer a wide range of hardwood worktops to complement our oak kitchen cabinets and accessories.

Our range of worktops are very high quality, great value for money, and offered at the most competitive prices possible.

Other choices featured in this information guide are widely available from high-street retailers, with stone and solid surface worktops commonly costing more than double the price of an equivalent sized wooden worktop.

“Do your cabinets for solid wood kitchens come pre-built?”

Today’s ‘Question of the Week’ comes from Maggie in Southampton, who is impressed by our solid wood kitchens, but wanted to know whether our cabinets come pre-built.

QUESTION:

“I really like the look of your cabinets, but wanted to know if they come flat-packed or pre-built? I like the idea of completing the kitchen myself without a fitter, but don’t want to struggle putting them together.”

ANSWER:

Hi Maggie,

We are glad to hear you are impressed by our solid wood kitchen components; we have put a lot of thought into developing our range, which allows you to create the kitchen you have always dreamed of (and install it without extensive kitchen-fitting knowledge).

Each of our cabinets comes as a flat-pack item, ready to be assembled upon delivery. All cabinets come complete with assembly instructions, and only standard household tools such as a screwdriver and electric drill are required to install the vast majority of our items.

Though we are developing a pre-building service, we do not offer this currently. Moreover, we will always offer a flat-pack option alongside a rigid service, because in this form cabinets are unlikely to be damaged, and are smaller and considerably more economical to deliver – which saves on costs and means our kitchens can remain incredibly good value for money.

If you take the time to carefully measure and plan your new kitchen, putting together a design worthy of one of our oak kitchen showrooms is easier than you might think.

If you would like to read some of the assembly guides for our cabinets to familiarise yourself with the installation process before your order is delivered, then visit the cabinet assembly instructions section of our website to view them online or download them as a PDF.

“Does wirework for oak kitchens require specialist installation?”

The latest ‘Question of the Week’ this June was sent in by Carl in Exeter, who is planning on ordering a variety of kitchen cabinets from us, but wanted to know whether our wirework requires specialist installation in oak kitchens.

QUESTION:

“I am planning on ordering a range of your solid oak cabinets to fit our new kitchen, but wanted to know whether your kitchen wirework requires any kind of specialist tools or experience for installation?”

ANSWER:

Hi Carl,

Although our solid oak kitchen cabinets provide plentiful storage in any kitchen, our wide range of wirework helps make the most of the space available.

None of our kitchen wirework solutions require specialist installation, and can be easily installed using standard DIY tools. Each comes with a full set of instructions and fixings, making it easy to install them without any prior experience.

The easiest wirework to install is our 3-Tier Spice Rack, which simply requires 4 screws to attach it to the inside of one of our cabinet door frontals.

Other wirework solutions in our range require a little more work, but will only need a drill and screwdriver for installation after assembly. Our Pull & Swing Pantry wirework is likely to be the most time-consuming to install.

At Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets, we have designed our website to offer as much choice as possible to our customers, making it easy to create new solid oak kitchens. All of our cabinets are manufactured from solid European oak to the highest standard, and can be bought either with or without drawers or matching oak doors in the finish of your choice.

To create your dream kitchen we offer a wide range of cabinets, including standard base cabinets, wall cabinets, full height cabinets and a variety of more specialist options in a vast array of widths and heights to suit your kitchen design. Whether you are considering a Belfast sink in your kitchen, or want somewhere to keep your favourite bottles of wine to hand, our selection can cater for your needs.

The flexibility of our range means that you can also choose up to 5 drawers in any standard-height base cabinet, with much deeper pan drawers also available; all of our drawers and doors come with a quiet soft-close mechanism from Blum™.

We updated our website to make choosing a suitable colour for your cabinet frontals easier than ever, whilst allowing you to see what any of the Farrow & Ball paints and other finishes look like on a door before placing your order.

Simply choose which type of cabinet you wish to order from the ‘Oak Kitchens’ option from our menu, then decide whether you want to buy cabinets with or without doors from the buttons at the top of the page. If you choose to purchase without doors, you will be directed to a page that lists all the options in that range, with dimensions and prices clearly marked.

If you would rather order cabinets with frontals, you will then be asked to choose between Shaker and Traditional doors, followed by your favoured finish – whether lacquered, sanded or painted. Click on any of the swatches on this page to see a demonstration of what they will look like on the corresponding cabinet. Once you have picked your preferred finish, click the adjacent ‘BUY’ button.

On the next page, you can see real photos of all the cabinets in our range, in your chosen finish. Simply click on the photo of the cabinets you would like to order, then enter the quantity you require into the boxes on the left. After entering the desired number of cabinets, you can return to the top of the page at any time by clicking the icon at the bottom right of the window.

Once you have chosen all the cabinets you require, you can click the ‘Purchase Items’ button at the foot of the page, or press the enter button on your keyboard to proceed to the checkout.

If you would like to see our cabinets on display before placing your order, we highly recommend a visit to one of our solid wood kitchen cabinet showrooms. Equally, you can experience the quality of our cabinets and frontals by ordering kitchen samples, the price of which can be refunded if you go on to place an order.

“I want to order components for solid wood kitchens, but can you provide samples first?”

June’s first ‘Question of the Week’ comes from Elizabeth in Bournemouth, who asked if we can provide her with samples of components for our solid wood kitchens before she places a full order.

QUESTION:

“I have finished designing my new kitchen, and am planning on placing a full order shortly, but would like to sample the quality of your products first. Can you provide me with samples so that I may see the workmanship up-close for myself?”

ANSWER:

Hi Elizabeth,

We are happy to hear that you are planning on placing an order for your new kitchen with us, and certainly can provide a full range of kitchen samples to demonstrate the high quality of our solid wood kitchen components before you place an order.

To experience the quality of our cabinets, we offer samples of the same 18mm thick European solid oak that is used to construct all the panels and shelving in our base cabinets and kitchen wall units.

Measuring 160mm x 80mm, these samples are finished in exactly the same way as the cabinet panels themselves, lacquered to provide an accurate representation. Each cabinet sample is priced at just £5, a cost which can be refunded when you place your order.

To show off the quality of our frontals, we have produced miniature versions of our solid oak kitchen doors, which measure 355mm (h) x 296mm (w) and are available in either Shaker or Traditional design.

Depending what kind of finish you are considering for your kitchen, our kitchen door samples can either be ordered in a sanded or lacquered finish, or can be supplied pre-painted in any of the Farrow & Ball colours in our range. Whichever look you would prefer, our door samples cost just £20, a cost which can be redeemed if you go on to order ten or more of our full-sized cabinet doors.

If you are ordering our wooden kitchen worktops to complete your kitchen, you will be pleased to hear that you can order 200mm x 150mm x 40mm samples of any of the worktops in our range for just £5 including delivery. Each sample comes pre-oiled on one face to provide a good representation of the finished product, and – like our other samples – can be refunded if you go on to order a worktop on a 1-for-1 basis.

Further information regarding installation of other kitchen components can be found in the ’Kitchen Advice’ segment of our website, which features a new guide every week.

I hope this answers your question, but do keep in mind that we now have a number of showrooms around England which may be worth visiting to see our wooden kitchen components in a fully installed kitchen setting.

Kind Regards,

The Team @ Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets

Do you have a question that you would like us to answer? Ask us now on , or send us a message.

At Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets we know that creating oak kitchens that effectively use every square centimetre of your kitchen’s available space is incredibly important, and unless you employ and expensive kitchen fitter to build a bespoke kitchen to your requirements it can be difficult to find cabinets that maximise your kitchen’s potential.

For kitchens blessed with ample space, our full height cabinets provide a huge amount of storage, coupled with a variety of kitchen wirework choices that offers some ingenious storage solutions.

Choose the right full height configuration

Available in two heights – 1965mm and 2145mm – and a range of widths from 300mm up to 600mm, these solid oak tall cabinets can fit into many diverse spaces, and can become the perfect kitchen larder, a housing for single or double ovens and much more besides.

No matter what kind of storage possibilities you want, full height cabinets offer the space and versatility to cater for your needs. Here are some configuration suggestions to give your kitchen exactly what it requires to suit your home and family desires:

Want to keep your cooking at eye-height? Consider a single or double oven configuration with drawers or cupboards for additional storage.

Give your kitchen the larder you’ve always dreamed of, with plenty of access to any of your food by installing one of our soft-close larder solutions.

Want more food storage? Our Pull & Swing Pantry wirework automatically extends from a full height cabinet when you open the door, and can be combined with door-mounted spice racks for even more storage space!

Lacking a utility room? Choose one or two large cabinet doors to provide ample space for cleaning equipment such as vacuums, brushes or mops.

Simply looking for bags of storage? Choose your own combination of doors, shelves and drawers to provide the perfect solution.

Whatever your requirement, our solid oak full height cabinets can be ordered with or without Shaker or Traditional frontals, which can be pre-painted in any Farrow & Ball colour of your choosing; lacquered for a hard-wearing finish that exposes the beauty of our European oak; or left sanded for you to finish in a style of your choosing.

Whichever height you choose, these tall cabinets are provided with two solid oak shelves, though additional shelves can be purchased in packs of two from our cabinet installation accessories page.

Full height cabinet installation

Installing full height cabinets is a relatively straight forward procedure, and can be completed with limited DIY knowhow and a basic selection of tools.

We provide a detailed cabinet assembly instructions on our website which fully explain the procedure of building, joining or fixing cabinets to a wall for both of the full height cabinets we offer; these instructions can also be downloaded as a PDF, for easy printing – should you require.

For accurate installation you will require the following tools & equipment:

A cross-head screwdriver.

A hammer.

A drill with a variety of drill bits.

Protective eye / hand wear.

Solid Wood Kitchen Cabinets offers a variety of unique solid oak cabinets and matching frontals as well as a range of hardwood worktops to create your own special kitchen. If you are looking for inspiration, then why not visit one of our kitchen showrooms, each of which has an assortment of our cabinets on display in professionally designed demonstration kitchens.